WHAT TYPE OF GAY CRUISE
BEST SUITS MY NEEDS?

I was having cocktails a few weeks ago with a group of friends and the conversation turned to vacations.  One of my compadres couldn’t understand why anyone would want to be “stuck on a boat out in the ocean for days on end”.  He worried that he’d get bored, overeat and be stuck amid a bunch of gray haired straight people from the “red states” – no offense to those living in these states. My mouth dropped open, I spilled my Stoli martini and I will admit to having a small seizure.

How misinformed my friend was. He obviously was watching one too many episodes of the ‘70’s Love Boat and did not have enough exposure to television and media ads for Royal Caribbean and Celebrity showcasing the endless possibilites of modern cruising.  Today a cruise experience is as exciting and enriching, as you want it to be…and as Gay as you want it to be.

Gay Group Cruises have been sailing the seas for over 20 years. Pioneers like Atlantis and RSVP for the boys and Olivia for the girls have been providing the LGBT community with exclusive all gay and lesbian cruises for two decades. Essentially they book the whole boat, bring on their own entertainers (Margaret Cho, The Indigo Girls, Kathy Griffin, Cyndi Lauper, Gloria Estafan, Erasure to name just a few), stage outrageous dance parties and their own gay-friendly excursions for the destinations that they visit.

But not all Gay Group Cruises book the whole boat. I’ve often heard from friends that some of the “all gay” cruises are just a little too gay. They are essentially a seven-day circuit party on the high seas.  For those wanting a little more integrated cruise Pied Piper, Aquafest, Out Cruising and some other providers offer gay group cruising on a traditional sailing. A group of anywhere from 30 to 1,000 gays sailing on a regular cruise. This option is a wonderful way to cruise. On the last Pied Piper cruise that I sailed on my group of friends adopted two single ladies whom we’ve become very good friends with. You might think that some straight folks might get a little upset with sharing the boat with a group of gays but rarely does any riffs happen. In fact, on one cruise the husbands of a couple of ladies who befriended some of the gay guys confided with me at the bar that they were so glad we were on board. They hated ABBA and were thrilled that their wives could hit the disco with us and they did not have to worry about us hitting on their wives.

But what happens if your schedule does not allow you to take a Gay Group Cruise? How can you possible set sail on a ship full of 2,500 straight people? The cruise lines today are market savvy. They know that there is a potentially large market of LGBT cruisers out there and they would love nothing more than get us hooked on cruising (the water kind). Most cruises will include a gay-get-together, better known as a “Friends of Dorothy” party. This is code for gay mixer. It will be advertised in your daily cruise bulletin and usually happens the second or third day out. If your cruise doesn’t provide this party then head up to your Cruise Director or the Activities Desk and ask for them to arrange for a “Friends of Dorothy” party. If you are shy, use your in-room phone or interactive TV to send a message to the Cruise Director. These parties are not hosted and they usually take place at the Martini Bar or in a lounge an hour or so before the second dining seating. They are very discreet, well as discreet as they can be with a bunch of gay men and women sitting around drinking, with no signage - so you don’t have to out yourself to the whole ship if you so desire.

What about cruising with your family and straight friends? My partner and I take our teenage son and my partner’s mom on cruises all the time.  It’s a great opportunity for us to all be together and we always find new gay friends to hang out with.  R Family Vacations, Rosey O’Donnell’s much revered company focusing on cruising with gay families and their loved ones, is a great way to be out and about with other gay families. These cruises book the whole boat and provide activities the adults enjoy as well as activities for the kids. HBO aired All Aboard! Rosie's Family Cruise With Rosie and Kelli O'Donnell, a documentary on this novel idea a few years ago.  We’ve taken our son on Pied Piper Cruises and we had a blast. We were known all over the boat as “Shane’s Dads”. For more information of cruising with family, visit the community section of GaySailAway and read Shane’s Column, Cruising with Shane.

So now you’ve figured out how gay you want your cruising experience to be. Are there other issues that are holding you back from booking a cruise vacation?

Worried about overeating? Relax, there’s delicious and calorie conscious menus offered on all major lines as well as specialty restaurants serving “spa cuisine” and freshly made sushi that rivals the best sushi restaurants on shore.

Worried about being bored on board? The shuffleboard court is a thing of the past! On today’s ships you can rock climb, ice skate, roller skate, zip line, enjoy the water slides, play miniature golf, bowl, hit a world-class gym with views across the seas, go to a cooking demonstration, learn about astronomy, partake in a lecture series, peruse the library, check out all the art on-board (many ships have multi-million dollar collections), hit the casino, go to an art auction, play bingo, learn a new dance step, aerobics, yoga, jogging, learn how to scuba dive, have coffee in the coffee house, shop, shop some more, see a parade, go to a comedy show, see a Broadway or Vegas-style show like Hairspray or the Blue Man Group, see an ice skating show, see a diving show, see a first run movie, sing karaoke, have a cocktail at the piano bar, put on a  parka for the ice bar, have a massage at the spa, lounge in the saunas, have acupuncture, get a make-over in the salon…or just relax in the sun on a lounge chair with your iPod, a book and a mojito.

Today’s cruise ships are designed to be a destination in itself. They are big, luxurious floating hotels with something to do, or not do, at any moment in the day. Each ship has it’s own distinct personality and style. Celebrity’s ships are fashioned after luxurious and trendy boutique-style hotels, imagine a Kimpton Hotel on the high seas. Royal Caribbean’s ships are massive giants with three story malls that are as long as football field-many with ice rinks, rock climbing walls, elaborate three-story restaurants with floor to ceiling windows out to sea. Princess’s ships are more reserved; imagine a floating Hyatt or Marriott Hotel with giant atriums and lots of polished brass. Holland America’s ships are very European in style, with bold colors, modern furnishings mixed in with some of the largest collections of art afloat, Disney’s ships are nostalgic floating palaces with lot’s of hidden Mickey’s and Cunard’s Queens are timeless masterpieces of luxury with décor and service harkening back to the transatlantic sailings of yesteryears.

If your idea of a vacation is to curl up with a good book, slather on sunscreen and enjoy the tropical sun a cruise would be just right for you. Perhaps you are an active person who wants to be outdoors playing in the sun, your ship and the destinations will offer you ample opportunity to challenge your desires for adventure. But maybe your idea of going on vacation is to be pampered head to toe, relaxing at a world class spa, dining every night in a different restaurant every night and spending your evenings socializing with new friends in some of the most innovative bars and lounges on land or sea, a cruise is a great vacation option for you. You can be as gay as you want – selecting from a diverse selection of Gay cruise opportunities that match your personality, taste and style.

Be sure to visit the sections Travel Agents and Gay Group Cruises, located on GaySailAway’s menu bar, to help you find a cruise specialist that is just right for you.